PRESS TEXT DELIVERED BY COMRADE KAPPO SAMUEL OLAWALE: COORDINATOR ELECT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN STUDENTS SOUTH WEST (NANS ZONE D)

PROTOCOL

Gentlemen of the Press, Senators and Leaders of the most ideological zone in NANS Zone D, Out gone Executives of the Zone, Newly elected Executive-in- Council of our dear zone,

Comrade Kappo Samuel Olawale

Coordinator

Lagos State University, Ojo

Lagos State

ii.

Comrade Oladimeji Uthman

Deputy Coordinator

Federal College of Education, Abeokuta

Ogun State

iii.

Comrade Oladoja Mubaraq

Secretary General

Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo

Oyo State

iv.

Comrade Ibukun Titilayo Samuel

Assistant Secretary General

Ekiti State University (EKSU)

Ekiti State

Comrade Olatunji Nurudeen Ishola

Public Relations Officer

Osun State Polytechnic, Iree

Osun State

NANS Zone D 2019 Convention Chairman, Esteemed members of the Communique Drafting Committee of the Convention and of the Greatest Nigerian Students. I greet you all in solidarity and humbly welcome you to this historic press conference.

INTRODUCTION

National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is the umbrella and the apex students body that represents students of Nigerian origin home and abroad. The Association is saddled with the responsibility of agitating the course of the students: ensuring qualitative and affordable education and adequate welfarism for Nigerian students.

It is no gainsaying that in recent years our association has seized to be the leading and loudest voice seeking the sustainable development of our nation and most importantly failed to live up to the expectations and precedents set by our founding fathers. The association does not have the believe and trust of the Nigerian Students they represent owing to her inability to protect the interest of her members.

We as Students leaders and Nigerian Students must reawaken our consciousness, wake up from our slumber and ensure that we lead a NANS that represents truly her constituents interest. We must return as the leading organizational charting the course of change and progressives. We must come together with a common but diverse strategy of fighting the course of the students, bringing the oppressors to the table whilst forcing them intellectually to do our biddings.

*OUR CHALLENGE AS A STUDENTS MOVEMENT*

As an association, we have several critical challenges combating the Nigerian Students Movement. We must come together as a unified body to face these issues and ensure prompt resolution for all.

*PROSCRIPTION OF STUDENTS' UNION GOVERNMENTS (SUGs)*

Students' Union Governments are the voices of the Nigerian Students on their respective campuses. They agitate hard and collectively protect the interest of the students and also protect the students from all form of oppression and intimidation from Institution Management and Government.

Noting the celestial force and power in collective bargaining of the Students' Union Government and how much threat it posits to undue oppression and intimidation of Nigerian Students, Managements of Tertiary Institutions choose to be undemocratic by proscribing our SUGs making the students voiceless in their own campuses and exposed to oppression and intimidation.

In South West today, institutions like U.I, UNILAG, YABATECH, OAU, GAPOSA and Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti etc are without substantial Students' Union Government. We decry and express our disappointment at lack of students representative body in these reputable institutions in our dear geopolitical zone (South West).

As an advocate of a globally recognized teaching and research focused tertiary institutions that provides equal opportunities for students to thrive, we demand the immediate restoration of SUGs across the affected campuses. We seek the assistance of Government at all levels to help see to the restoration of our SUGs as they are pivotal to reposing the mandate of the Nigerian Students in our dear organization.

*INCREMENT IN TUITION FEES AND INTRODUCTION OF UNDUE/EXPLOITATIVE CHARGES ON STUDENTS ACROSS INSTITUTIONS*

Nigerian Students have a right to qualitative and affordable education from Government most especially students in the South West region as our region started the free education policy in Nigeria.

In Nigeria today, we have commercialized education. It has become very costly and unaffordable to low/middle class Nigerians.

Increment in tuition fee up to one hundred percentage is not seen as an adversity that is fast turning into a menace but a normal and justified decision to take and implement. Institutions in furtherance to commercializing education at intervals introduce undue charges to exploit the Nigerian Students.

While our state institutions have generally continue to increase school charges irrespective of the poor structural facilities available and the management have totally turn deaf ear to United Nations position on how education must be less costly in developing nations like Nigeria. Yet, none of either the Federal government or State government sees any reason to for once react upon these ugly image being painted on the leadership of this country. Which ever state we are schooling, we face the same pain.

We call on concerned parties to desist from hike in tuition fee of institutions and also put a stop to payment of undue and exploitative charges levied on Nigerian Students. We equally call on Government at all levels to implement the recommendation of UNESCO to budget 26% of the total budget of the nation for Education.

SECURITY OPERATIVES HARASSMENT OF NIGERIAN STUDENTS

Security officials and Institutions are to be responsible for the protection of lives and properties of the Nigerian Students and Nigerians at large without prejudice to any interest. They should be accountable for maintaining law and orderliness in the society and be held liable for any omission in the discharge of their responsibility.

The security operatives that are saddled with the responsibility of protecting us have turned from being our saviors to be our oppressors and intimidators. They have continued to use their uniform and weapon to harass and victimize the Nigerian Students illegally. We have several stories and instances of how SARS and ZIS officials under the Nigeria Police Force victimize and harass our constituents across Southwest. They have gone as far as invading our campuses to perpetrate their evil and illegality as harassing citizens of the nation is not part of their standard operational practice.

We also have instances of how trigger happy officers fire at Nigerian Students in the process of demanding for their rights through peaceful, meaningful and organized mass protest. Happening in Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) is still very fresh in our memory. Several account of police brutality, unlawful arrest and detention of Nigerian Students are also on records.

We frown at the harassment and victimization of Nigerian Students and will not hesitate to lead a mass protest at any point against any security institution found perpetrating this illegality. Swiftly, we will constitute a Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS) for NANS Zone D to address immediately issues relating to harassment and victimization of Nigerian Students by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

We also call on the Federal Government to demonstrate strong will to ensure erring security officials are punished whenever they carry out this illegality so as to serve as deterrents to others.

*OUR VITAL PLANS FOR NIGERIAN STUDENTS IN SOUTHWEST*

As a new administration coming on board to pilot the affairs of NANS Zone D, we seek to run an impact laced administration that will contribute to the progress of Nigerian Students and our association.

*QUALITATIVE WELFARE PLANS FOR NIGERIAN STUDENTS*

As an association, we need to start leading qualitative welfarism plans to instigate a secured future for Nigerian Students. Our administration will pay undivided and unprecedented attention to welfarism of Nigerian Students.

We will lead the discuss for the following welfarism plans; bursary and scholarship payment by state governments, adequate learning environment, digitalization of payments expected of students, provision of conducive hostels and lecture halls, provision of functional and adequate medical facilities across tertiary institutions and incorporation of Nigeria Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to all Southwest Institutions medical centers.

Most importantly, recognizing academics as our primary objective as Nigerian Students, we will agitate for the accreditation of all courses offered in respective institutions across the institutions in Southwest.

PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES

Our administration will organize life changing, developmental programs and also engage in activities that will contribute to the capacity building of Nigerian Students.

We will give priority to leadership development and entrepreneurship to equip our students with skills that can make them independent and self sufficient. We will also engage in partnership with leading organizations across our region to secure internship placements for Nigerian Students and employment through career fairs.

Medical Outreaches, Social Investment and Intervention Programs/Fund respectively will be major highlights of our administration within our first quarter in office.

CRITICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT

When Government is wrong we should oppose them and when Government is right there is nothing bad to solidarize with them. When we do work with them we often don’t get the desired results, when we oppose them we often don’t produce the required outcome. We need opposition that delivers change and partnerships that have lasting legacies.

We can only do this by creating the effective activists of tomorrow; change makers. I will work with anyone who wants to make positive change for Nigerian students in our dear zone. Our administration will work hard to build strong relationships with all levels of government in order to achieve real success when we agree.

We will strongly hold Government to account with direction coming from our membership and not just the politicos. We will seek more partnership and support from Government for Students' Unionism.

As a movement, we will also contribute our quota to the development programs of the South West Government and development of the Nation as a whole.

CONCLUSION

I seek the unflinching support and trust of the ever militant but reasonable Nigerian Students to come together as a unified body to achieve new possibilities for the most ideological zone in NANS (NANS Zone D).

I sincerely appreciate the out gone executives of our zone most especially the Coordinator, General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary for their relentless service to the zone. I also appreciate all Senators and Cadres for their efforts in ensuring the progress of our association. Many thanks to Pressmen and Security Operatives present on ground for the 2019 convention that was helped on the 7th of December, 2019 at Lagos State College of Health Technology, Yaba, Lagos.

The journey to attaining new possibilities for NANS Zone D has just begin. Ever-unintimidatable Nigerian Students, let's take our dear zone to an unprecedented height of success.

God bless Nigeria

God bless NANS National

God bless NANS Zone D

God bless Lagos State

God bless Ogun State

God bless Oyo State

God bless Osun State

God bless Ekiti State

God bless Ondo State

Aluta Continua!, Victoria Ascerta!!

Signed:

Comrade Kappo Samuel Olawale (KAPPO),